Symphony Orchestra meets Hip-Hop Classics!

Many attempts at “mashing up” Hip-Hop and classical music have failed miserably, but Polish composer/beatmaker Radzimir “JIMEK” Dębski has pulled it off masterfully. Much like Californian composer and Dilla disciple Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Suites for Ma Dukes, classical hip-hop covers work best when the composer is both a certified orchestrator and rap fan.

Jimek chose 30 hip-hop tracks and composed orchestration so that they can be succesively interpreted by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. The opening track is incredible and sets the mood for a stipped down and symphonic take on classic rap songs. Favorites include Mobb Deep’s Giving Up the Goods, Nas is Like and JIMEK’s own compositional closer, the guy even managed to make Thong Song sound good! Check the tracklist below for the full program and hopefully this sucessful event inspires other likeminded composer’s to experiment with this type of hybrid genre compositions. Lexis and I are cooking up a special mix in this vein so keep you ears open!

DJ Asma

A Montreal native with West-African roots, Antoine started developing a love for records when his father passed his collection of French, African, Caribbean and Brazilian classics onto him. Ever since, the collector turned selector has spent countless hours in musky basements both here and abroad (Dakar, Lima, Paris, Quito, Rio) in the never-ending search for the perfect beat!

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DJ Asma

A Montreal native with West-African roots, Antoine started developing a love for records when his father passed his collection of French, African, Caribbean and Brazilian classics onto him. Ever since, the collector turned selector has spent countless hours in musky basements both here and abroad (Dakar, Lima, Paris, Quito, Rio) in the never-ending search for the perfect beat!

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